May 5, 2008

Today's Hotness: Shannon Worrell, Frightened Rabbit, City Breathing

>> While we were mucklucking around the Internerdzez Sunday looking for information about Shannon Worrell (because of our most recent Muxtape) we happened upon Ms. Worrell's MySpace dojo. And there we found information that surprised us: the former fronter of September 67 is making a return to recorded music after about eight years of relative silence. The set will be titled The Honey Guide and one song intended for it, "Driving In The Dark," is posted at the aforementioned MySpace destination. The tune is more traditionally country-sounding than September 67 and Worrell's solo material with which we are familiar. But it's got a good hook and a rich sound. It's no "Little Lantern Face," "Bring Back The Weight" (posted at the MySpace page, grab it) or "Deep Sea Swimmer" (check it out within our most recent Muxtape below), but it is very listenable. We expect Worrell will be playing new material at two upcoming dates in Charlottesville, VA: Tuesday night at Gravity Lounge and May 24 at Satellite Ballroom. We're posting below another track from Worrell's 2000 set The Moviegoer -- we believe this is the unmastered mix as found by Mr. Mystical Beast a few years ago.

Shannon Worrell -- "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" -- The Moviegoer[right click and save as][buy Shannon Worrell and September 67 records here and here]

>> While researching entertainment options in Aberdeen, Scotland this coming week for our friend The Well-Traveled Texan we checked in at Frightened Rabbit's MySpace page. And lo and behold, we discovered there are additional east coast (U.S.) dates; the band will return to Great Scott in Boston May 26. The Selkirk, Scotland-based quartet previously played the club as a trio in November, and were just in Boston in March after a successful spate of dates at the annual South By Southwest confabulation. We initially posted the dates the band will play when it returns to North America here last month. The dates below are more recent additions. We reviewed Frightened Rabbit's incendiary March show here.

>> One of the submissions that has stuck with us in recent weeks has been City Breathing's Look How It's Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven. The Brooklyn-based dreampop trio contacted us recently ahead of a local gig and we were taken in by what we heard, but too arsed with other things to make the performance. The set has clear standout tracks, namely "Rain And Revolution" and "Footsteps, Leaving The Scene." The former song in particular strikes us each time we hear it as the singer (we can't figure out which one is the singer) incants "remember I remember you" over and over like a solemn prayer. Generally the proceedings remind us of Starflyer 59, but the clean, glistening guitars do also suggest Texans Explosions In The Sky. City Breathing recently sold out its hometown debut and there are nine forthcoming dates booked that we're posting below the obligatory, and very good, MP3.

City Breathing -- "Rain And Revolution" -- Look How It's Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven[right click and save as][purchase or download for free Look How It's Snowing... at the band's MySpace cabin]